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About this project

lift - The easy way to open
your garage door.

I’ve Been Using lift, it works!

I built the lift prototype 3 months ago and it has been working flawlessly ever since. It is ridiculously easy to set-up and I think you’ll really be surprised by how this app actually makes life easier. Here is a video that actually shows my initial prototype working at home.

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The Story Behind lift

My name is John, I am a software developer. Last year my garage door opener’s remote control was broken, and it was a pain that we have to share only one remote control. Suddenly an idea came up "Wouldn't it be so cool and so convenient if we can open the garage door with our iPhone"? We can use the same app to open the garage door, we don't need to carry an extra remote control and make our key chain lighter.

So I use a Bluetooth 4 breakout, a relay breakout in my hands and then wrote the firmware and iPhone app. Today the prototype still working brilliantly in my garage.

First prototype - stilling working in my garage

Here is a photo of the working lift module I've hand soldered personally.

Working module

How lift works

1. Firstly register your account

2. After register/login when a lift beacon available, add/link the beacon to your account

3. Now you can open/close your garage door with your iPhone

Hardware

BLE112 from Bluegiga

5VDC relay

The Schedule

Software -

April: Kickstarter concluded.

May-June: Tweak and improve iOS app functionalities.

July-September: Android application development.

On-going: Backend development and enclosure design.

Hardware -

April: Kickstarter concluded.

May-June: PCB fabrication and acquire parts.

July-September: Manufacturing and assembly.

September: Start shipping

Funds

In addition to lowering the per-unit cost by enlarging the scale of hardware manufacturing, the funds will allow us to devote more time allocate more resources to building up good software and services for the hardware. They are:

Improve functionality to the iOS app.

Develop an app for Android, similar to the application that I have developed for the iOS.

Complete the backend development that I have already begun.

A cloud-based service for storing and retrieving lift beacon information.

So, there is still plenty of work to be done and that's why I am here.

Finally thanks for your support!

Risks and challenges

Supply Chain Management
Reliable supply chain management is critical to the success of just about any project—including lift. The circuit board and components in lift are sourced from multiple locations i.e. US, China. With your support, we’re confident we can build a world-class network of suppliers and make lift a reality and a great success!

Software Engineering
A good smartphone App is our goal and is so important that it will significantly improves the usability of the hardware. I have learned a lot from the initial prototypes, and putting every effort into making Open-Me a foolproof device that you'll use—and love—every day.